Voting is taking place in Burma in what is being called one of the freest elections there in years.

The vote is widely expected to see opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi elected to parliament for the first time.

The election comes after months of reforms by the military-backed government.

The by-election will fill a few dozen vacant seats in the 664-member legislature. It will not change the balance of power in a country still controlled by a group of retired army officers.

But the 66-year-old opposition leader, who was under house arrest during elections in 1990 and 2010, said she did not regret standing for parliament because the polls had boosted people's interest in politics in the country.